Shatner celebrates, mocks his legend in O.C.-bound show

William Shatner's self-focused solo show, appropriately titled “Shatner's World: We Just Live In It," will be performed once at Segerstrom Hall on Thursday. JOAN MARCUS

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Shatner said the idea for the show came from Down Under. “Some people in Australia asked me if I would do a one-man show. Although I'd been out there in previous years, I'd done concerts with symphony orchestras and that kind of thing. They wanted something different.” JOAN MARCUS

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While he was performing the show in Toronto, Shatner received an invitation to bring his monologue to New York. He said that's when he finally got serious about it. JOAN MARCUS

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Shatner, 81, didn't intend to become an actor. He was born into a middle-class devoutly Jewish household in Montreal and studied commerce at McGill University, where he received an undergraduate degree. JOAN MARCUS

â€˜Shatnerâ€™s World: We Just Live In Itâ€™

Here's something you didn't know about Australia: William Shatner is huge there.

Perhaps the Aussies have a fine appreciation for the Canadian actor's edge-of-irony approach to his early career, which was dominated, of course, by his portrayal of Capt. James T. Kirk in the original "Star Trek" series from 1966-69. For years, even after his late-career rebound as crusty lawyer Denny Crane in "The Practice" and "Boston Legal," Shatner's public appearances often seemed to simultaneously celebrate and mock all things Kirk: The bombast. The ego. The. One. Word. Sentences.

For whatever reason, we have Australia to thank for Shatner's self-focused solo show, appropriately titled "Shatner's World: We Just Live In It." He will perform it once at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa on Thursday.

Shatner said the idea for the show came from Down Under.

"Some people in Australia asked me if I would do a one-man show. Although I'd been out there in previous years, I'd done performances with symphony orchestras and that kind of thing. They wanted something different."

Shatner had his doubts, but Kangaroo Land seemed as safe a bet as any place. "My first thought was that if I failed miserably, the damage would be limited to Australia and some of the outlying islands."

But to his amazement, Shatner didn't bomb. "There was a guy onstage asking me questions and I'd tell all these anecdotes. It went sufficiently well that I toured Australia and Canada."

While he was performing the show in Toronto, Shatner received an invitation to bring his monologue to New York. That's when he finally got serious about it.

"I thought that I had better sharpen it up some. I rewrote it and it got redirected and made much better." Shatner honed the script and added some clips from his long career in film and network TV. "It's completely written down now – a prepared script to which lots of (video) cues are attached."

The New York run, despite some snarky criticism, did well enough that Shatner was invited to take it on tour last year. The audience response, Shatner said, has been a bit overwhelming at times. "It turned out to be a life-changing experience, which I certainly wasn't expecting. People seem to love it."

The show is laced with humor, which came out frequently during our 20-minute interview.

"Touring is arduous. The main challenge is traveling. Doing the show is great fun, but being felt up by security guards in airports across the country isn't too cool. As they're prodding around my groin they say, 'I've always wanted to meet you!' I'm actually beginning to enjoy it now."

NO REGRETS ABOUT CAPT. KIRK

Shatner, 81, didn't intend to become an actor. He was born into a middle-class devoutly Jewish household in Montreal and studied commerce at McGill University, where he received an undergraduate degree.

But managing a small theater gave Shatner the acting bug. He joined the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa, trained as a classical Shakespearean actor and appeared at the prestigious Stratford Festival in Ontario.

Shatner made his Broadway debut in 1956 and began appearing on American TV in the late 1950s. But he didn't become a universally familiar face until "Star Trek" captivated Cold War-era, space race-obsessed America.

The show was a double-edged sword, Shatner admits, and his "Star Trek" success was followed by some dark years that included a post-divorce homeless stint living out of his RV. Shatner faced tragedy in 1999 when his third wife, Nerine, drowned in their mansion's swimming pool. She had been struggling for years with substance abuse.

All of his life's many chapters are fair game for the show, the actor claims, and he has no regrets about playing Kirk.

"I was always grateful for that opportunity. It's what led to our having this conversation right now."

Shatner knows that there's a certain quotient of irony to his relationship with Kirk, an over-the-top character that was easily parodied by comics of the era. He admits that he likes to play with audience expectations.

"I work on more than one level, sort of like this interview. We're doing a job but having fun. We're dancing a little gavotte. There's an understanding with the audience like that as well. At times I'm having fun with myself and them. At other times I'm laying it on the line."

But above all, Shatner said, his show is a journey through a life that, through thick and thin, has never been dull.

"It is terrific entertainment filled with laughs and some tears and some commentary. All in all, it's a very interesting if not profound evening, during which I tackle an enormous number of topics very briefly: death and love and comedy and music, motorcycles and horses and aliens." He delivered a slightly hammy, Kirk-like chuckle. "That sort of thing."

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